Comparisons

After a week and a bit of being open, we’re noticing that we often get asked how we intend to compete with the bigger chains and what do we offer that’s different. I have to think before I answer this, because to me it’s obvious. I have to remind myself that this has been my dream for as long as I can remember and I’ve been embedded in the bookselling world for the best part of this year; those who ask me these questions are not and are just interested in finding out more.

Here are some of the things that I think make our little shop special:

It is ours: Dan and I have invested our own time and money into the shop. We don’t have a whole team of people behind us, supporting what we do. From building the shelves, to stocking them, to our social media and website, to the accounts, everything is done by Dan and myself. We’ve had some help along the way from our wonderful friends and family to open, but it’s mostly just us two (and Willow). We’re not employees, this is our business.

The titles are all hand picked by me. We have around 2500 titles, and I’ve selected them all. I may not get it right every time, and there are definitely areas that I feel more comfortable in, but I’ve gone through lists and lists to try and select the books that people will want. This means I can talk confidently about them and make recommendations.

We have a heavy weight toward science-fiction and fantasy novels. Our dream was to provide people with wonderful adventures, interesting characters and a little bit of magic in their daily lives. So, we have the majority being science fiction and fantasy titles, and we pride ourselves on having titles that you may not see in your conventional bookshops. In the last week, people have commented on how good our selection is, and we’re continually adding to it. Given that this is my preferred genre, I’m confident in giving a good recommendation too.

We support local authors. We want to build up a bigger community of book lovers, and so we stock self-published books, host author events and readings and will host books launches too. There are some guidelines on us stocking local authors, especially those who are self-published. This is to support us in making the right decision for our customers, as I said, it’s just Dan and I and we can’t go through all the books we’re given.

We stock both new and second hand books: We believe that everyone should have access to good books and so we have a “read-cycled” section, with reduced prices, as well as stocking lots of new titles. We’ve had lots of generous people offer to donate books, and we might seem picky, but we try to go for titles that are a little bit different. Our read-cycled section aims to be as diverse as the new titles on our shelves.

It doesn’t feel that we’re competing with other shops. There are many little nuances that make our shop different to others, from the cosy decor to our ethos about bookselling, but maybe you’ll have to come in and see for yourselves.